PM SHRI: Centre sanctions funds to Punjab for upgrading 233 schools
The funds have been approved by the project approval board (PAB) of the Union ministry of education (MoE) to upgrade 233 government schools in the state.
Days after the Punjab government decided to rejoin the programme, the Centre has sanctioned a budget of ₹209.46 crore for the state under the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme for the financial year 2024-25.
The funds have been approved by the project approval board (PAB) of the Union ministry of education (MoE) to upgrade 233 government schools in the state. These schools will be developed as ‘exemplar schools’ to provide “high-quality education in an equitable, inclusive and joyful school environment” and showcase the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. As the centrally sponsored scheme is funded jointly by the Centre and the state on a 60:40 sharing basis, the central ministry will contribute ₹126 crore as its share, while the remaining ₹83 crore will be provided by the state government, according to officials from the school education department.
They said that the MoE sanctioned ₹119 crore as a non-recurring grant and ₹90 crore as a recurring grant for the school upgradation activities, including strengthening of school infrastructure, skill education, and teacher training, as proposed by the department in its annual work plan for selected schools.
The ₹27,360-crore PM SHRI scheme, approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2022, aims to strengthen 14,500 existing schools nationwide over five years. Punjab initially signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) in October 2022 but later withdrew from the programme last year. The state rejoined the scheme in July 2024 and then participated in the fourth phase of school selection held in August and September to identify the schools for upgrade.
A total of 59 secondary and 174 senior secondary schools were selected through the challenge mode in which 5,300 government schools from across the state participated.
The selected schools include 17 each from Bathinda, Gurdaspur and Patiala districts, 15 from Jalandhar and Ludhiana, 14 each from Sangrur and Amritsar, 10 each from Ferozepur, Tarn Taran and SAS Nagar, nine from Mansa, eight each from Pathankot and Fazilka, seven from Muktsar, six each from Barnala, Faridkot and Malerkotla, and five each from Fatehgarh Sahib, SBS Nagar, and Rupnagar.
According to the scheme guidelines, each primary, elementary and secondary/senior secondary school would receive a budget, including central and state share, of around ₹1 crore, ₹1.30 crore and ₹2.25 crore, respectively, depending upon its enrolment of the students and requirements. While most other states have included junior schools, there is no primary or elementary school in the list of selected schools in Punjab.
Earlier, Punjab, which signed the MoU with the central ministry in October 2022 and was allotted 241 schools initially, had pulled out of the programme in July 2023, citing its own ‘Schools of Eminence’ scheme and plans to transform 1,000 other state-run schools into specialised schools under proposed schemes of ‘Schools of Happiness’ and ‘Schools of Brilliance’. The director general school education, Punjab, wrote to the central ministry, “It is felt that shifting 241 schools under any other scheme would create ambiguity since the state wants to focus on state initiatives/projects. Therefore, the state government is not willing to opt for the PM SHRI School Scheme.”
Punjab was among the five opposition-ruled states that withdrew or did not sign up for the scheme. However, the central government stopped their funds under Samagra Shiksha, the flagship scheme for the education sector, compelling the Punjab government to rethink its stand and participate in the centrally-sponsored programme. After the central government withheld funds, the state government wrote to the ministry in July this year, expressing its willingness to participate in the programme.
